Sussex County, NJ Insulation Payback
Sussex County attic insulation, by the numbers
Sussex County, New Jersey is zone 5 under DOE's climate map (Cold), which means a real winter that drives most of the annual energy bill here. An uninsulated attic there should be built up to R-60. Going from R-2 to the recommended R-60 costs roughly $3,480 installed for a typical attic (about 1,000 sq ft), and pays for itself in about 2 years at an estimated $1,720/year saved. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $1,617 a year on the heating side, $103 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Sussex County lands in the 67th percentile nationally. Zone 5 alone covers 745 counties in this dataset, and Sussex County comes in 447th by savings. New Jersey averages $1,541/year across the counties tracked here; Sussex County comes in 12% higher.
Sussex County's actual weather, not a national average
Sussex County's climate figures — 6,048 heating and 639 cooling degree days a year — are read from SUSSEX AP, NJ US, 5.6 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. By total degree days, Sussex County sits at the 66th percentile nationally. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Sussex County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
If the attic isn't bare
A shallower starting point changes the math: with R-11 already down, only the gap to R-49 needs filling, at roughly $2,280 for an estimated $251/year saved (~9.1-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Quotes and materials for this job
Actual quotes will vary by attic access, existing debris, and whether the job needs air sealing first. Treat the $3,480 figure above as a planning number for Sussex County, not a bid - contractors typically charge a $600 minimum regardless of job size.
Where these figures come from
Sussex County's R-60 target and its degree-day figures both come from named federal sources - see the methodology guide for exactly which ones. The guide to what R-value actually means explains why R-60 is the target here specifically.